Brothers: Free Will
by Gundam Kaiser
Summary: Shortly after being bullied one day, Shinji makes a new friend and is inspired to live. With friends, a brother figure, and a will of his own, will the machinations of SEELE bear fruit, or will Shinji Ikari unleash the power of free will? S/? K/?
1. Magnificence I

**Brothers**

_Magnificence_

**Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here.**

* * *

><p>As a meaty fist rocketed toward the ten-year-old Shinji's face, he tried to relax his muscles while one particular thought ran through his mind.<p>

_If they're going to bully me like this, the least they could do is change their routine every so often._

Four boys, the the leader of whom was a year older than him, had made a hobby of beating the crap out of one Shinji Ikari on his way home from school.

It wasn't a secret that Shinji hadn't any parents. It was also public knowledge that his aunt and uncle had died in a flood not so long ago.

In other words, Shinji pretty much lived by himself. And by the bullies' logic; if nobody cared to look after him, then he was an acceptable punching bag.

They didn't want his money, though they sometimes took it anyway.

Shinji didn't bother getting up from his current position, a couple of feet from where he'd been standing previously.

The boy who had punched him mockingly asked, "Well, Ikari? If you're so _smart_, then why dontcha think yer way out of this one?"

Determined not to make a sound and to feign unconsciousness – he'd learned that they got bored more easily when he didn't express his pain – Shinji dryly thought, _'Because I'm too weak to fight back, and my uncle told me that I mustn't run away from my problems, even if they hurt. Yeah, it's kind of painful, but since I don't matter to anyone, trying to get help would only inconvenience them.'_

Shinji really couldn't help that he got better grades than most of his class. For some reason, he still insisted on the pointless hope that if he did well enough, his father would at the very least acknowledge him.

It was for the same reason that he didn't change his route 'home.' Evidently, he was either too stupid or too stubborn to give up.

Realizing that they couldn't get a response out of someone who couldn't talk, however, the bullies got bored and left after a round of kicking him in the stomach, one of them remarking that, "Jeez, he just gets even wussier every single time."

"Yeah, I know, that's the only thing he's good for."

With that, the quartet erupted into uproarious laughter, which faded as they gained distance.

A few minutes later, just as Shinji was about to get up and continue on with his empty life, a voice said, "I hope you realize you don't really have to let those guys walk all over you like this."

Confused, Shinji opened his eyes and observed a white-haired boy, maybe a year older than he was. Momentarily stunned by the older boy's dull scarlet eyes, Shinji hesitated a moment before accepting the older boy's hand and getting helped to his feet. "Thanks, er…"

"Ah, sorry about that; forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kaworu Nagisa. I transferred in a week ago to the same school, although I'm a year older than you."

Once Shinji could stand, Kaworu smoothly transitioned his grasp into a brief handshake, polite smile never leaving his face.

Hesitating a few seconds before realizing that he also needed to introduce himself, Shinji eventually replied, "I'm Shinji Ikari…"

Then, almost too quickly for Shinji to react, Kaworu asked, "Now that that's taken care of, do you need to see a doctor?"

Confused, Shinji sputtered for a second, before collecting his senses and replying in the negative. "Nagisa-san –"

"Please, call me Kaworu. I don't really care about what honorific you choose."

Trying to get himself back on track, Shinji continued, "Okay then, Kaworu-san… I'm not that hurt, and it's not that I'm ungrateful for your help… But, why are you going out of your way to be concerned about me?"

Kaworu thought for a minute, before replying, "Hrm... Those other guys were beating on you, and I don't imagine that you deserve it. I have a natural instinct to help other people when they're in pain… And besides, you look like you could use a friend."

Quite surprised, Shinji eventually sighed and said, "You shouldn't bother yourself, Kaworu-san. I'm weak, cowardly… useless. Who on earth would want a friend like me?"

Within half a second, Kaworu replied, "Weak? Hardly. I saw those guys beating up on you, and you didn't even flinch or cry out in pain. That takes a lot of inner strength; strength of will. In short, Shinji, you're not weak. It's only natural for human beings to be afraid of pain, but you were willing to face that pain and get past it almost without incident. That takes a lot of courage. Therefore, you are not a coward. Besides, everyone has a purpose in life, you just have to find it. No one is useless. Surely you must have some sort of special talent, a something you're good at that a lot of other people arent'?"

Shinji's first thought of a skill he had was getting beaten up quickly, but figured that either it wouldn't count or that Kaworu would go on a brief lecture again. So, as Shinji was wont to do while deep in thought, he contemplated his navel. And, after a few moments of said contemplation, spoke up, "Well, I can play the cello…"

Light in his eyes, Kaworu practically leapt up as he replied, "A-ha! You can play the cello, and I'd wager you're fairly good at it, too. Can I play the cello? No, of course I can't, I'm nearly tone deaf. See, Shinji? _You_ can do something that I _can't_, and what's more, it's a skill I admire. So to speed things up a bit, what I'm trying to say is…."

Suddenly in Shinji's face and poking him in the chest to punctuate every word, Kaworu said, "YOU, ARE A _COOL KID_! Your most terrible flaw is that you haven't much self-esteem. If you could be confident in yourself, why, I bet you'd have a moderate-sized fan club!"

Reeling at the shock of being called 'cool', and raising an eyebrow in his incredulity, Shinji asked, "Oh really?"

Kaworu replied, "Have I lied to you yet? Of course not, I just met you five minutes ago, but everything I've said so far at least SOUNDS reasonably plausible, doesn't it? Search your feelings, Shinji! You know it to be true! Tell you what, I'll make a little bet with you. Tomorrow, during free time at school, approach some kids you want to play with, and without stuttering, ask to join them. If they reject you after that, then I'll make it up to you however you wish, no questions asked."

After a moment or two, Shinji decided to give it a try, his brain telling him that he would be ignored and/or rejected as always, and that having a butler would be rather nice.

* * *

><p>The next day, after lunch, Shinji approached a group of kids playing kickball, and asked, "Hey, um, well… would you mind if I join in?"<p>

The various children remained silent for a couple of seconds, and just as Shinji was about to turn and leave, a brown-haired girl replied, "Sure thing, Ikari-kun! We thought about inviting you to play with us loads of times before, but you always looked like you wanted to be by yourself! We're short a member, so you can join my team! My name's Noriko Takaya! These are my friends – Kaname-chan, Suzaku-san, and Mahiro-chan!"

The three children in question – a calm girl with long blue hair, a somewhat stoic red-haired boy, and a ditzy orange-haired girl – all smiled and welcomed the awe-struck Shinji into their fold.

And as it soon became Shinji's turn to kick, tears of joy fell from his eyes as he truly smiled for the first time in years, and as the red rubber ball came rolling at him, the young boy remembered all of the times that his sadness and timidity had trapped him in isolation, and imagined all of that loneliness inside the ball, and he sent that son of a bitch flying with every ounce of strength he could muster, and lo, it bounced off a tree and hit the concrete playground and somehow found the leader of the kids who bullied him yesterday and smashed that arrogant little prick right in the face and knocked him out.


	2. Drive

**Brothers: Free Will**

_Drive_

**Disclaimer: If I owned **_**Evangelion**_**, then why on Earth would I write fanfiction about it?**

**This story was largely inspired by a fanfic written by Laryna6. Includes crossover characters from various other mecha anime, though they won't have major roles.**

**Pairing: Shinji/?. At present, options are Noriko or Kaname (whom you may remember from the last chapter), or Maya, or MAYBE possibly Asuka. I don't plan on including Mana or Mari this time around, but otherwise they'd be choices too.**

**For the record, **_**yes**_** Noriko and Kaname are indeed this universe's version of Noriko Takaya (**_**GunBuster**_**) and Kaname Chidori (**_**Full Metal Panic!**_**). Suzaku Kururugi is from **_**Code Geass**_**, and Mahiro Muto is from **_**Buso Renkin**_**. The main reason for their inclusion is that I was too lazy to create entirely original characters to be Shinji's hometown friends. And that they wouldn't have enough impact on the plot to warrant that much work in the first place. Much easier and more efficient to knock-off characters from other anime when they're only around for cameos.**

**Rating: T, and for good reason.**

_(cue "awesome theme music that I think is appropriate for this next bit.")_

_(end "awesome theme music that I think was appropriate for that last bit.") _

_**Hope is a weapon mightier than any blade.**_

Shinji had been even more delighted to find out that of his new friends, everyone but Mahiro had a home in the same direction as his own, and that Kaworu, Kaname, and Suzaku even lived in the same apartment complex.

And so it was that every day, Shinji and his three friends would walk to and from school together. The Monday after, however, the bullies that had tormented the young Ikari so often returned, their leader furious. "All right you punk, you're gonna apologize for kicking that ball into my face last time."

As much as his worldview had changed, Shinji still had a healthy respect of those stronger than him, and he didn't want his new friends to get hurt or in trouble either, so even though he didn't quite remember the incident in question, he knelt before his enemy and was almost ready to beg for forgiveness when Kaname said, "What does Shinji-kun need to apologize for? If you got hit, it's because you were standing around like a moron, and not paying attention to what was going on!"

Suzaku nodded and added, "You're two years above us. Your class and ours aren't supposed to be on the playgroud at the same time in the first place."

Spluttering a bit, the nondescript and still-nameless bully was about to start using his fists when Shinji dropped to the ground as if in prayer and said, "Please, I'll do whatever you ask, just let my friends go."

Enraged, the musclebound thug shouted, "NOBODY'S GETTIN' AWAY FROM ME! BOYS, I WANT 'EM ALL IN THE HOSPITAL, PRONTO!"

Nodding, his three underlings obeyed – one targeted Suzaku, one Kaworu, and the oldest one – old enough to have some appreciation of girls, and sick enough to include those a few years younger than him – targeted Kaname with a leer. "I'm gonna enjoy hurtin' you, ya fiery little twat."

Eyes blazing with righteous feminine fury, she rushed forward, stomped on his foot, kneed his crotch, and kept smashing his face in with her bookbag. She was young enough to have no idea what exactly the word 'twat' meant, but she _did_ know that anyone using it deserved nothing less than a grade-A can of whup-ass.

Far from idle, Suzaku used his vaguely-defined martial arts training against his designated opponent, punching him in the gut a few times, before leaping into the air and getting his enemy in the side of the head with a vicious roundhouse kick, forever earning him the nickname of "Spinzaku" among his friends. However, he was neither as fortunate nor as fierce as Kaname had been, as the bully attacking him had managed to get a brutal gut punch of his own in before passing out. While Suzaku was clearly better off, he wouldn't be able to take out anyone else for another hour or so.

Nobody had been watching Kaworu's fight, but it was both surprising and amusing when his opponent – the biggest of the lot – was next seen running the hell away like a beaten dog, screaming like a little girl.

As the blue-haired girl and the brown-haired boy looked at him in confusion, Kaworu shrugged and said, "I simply told him the truth about something rather important to him, and he just couldn't handle it."

Tilting her head, Kaname asked, "Did he want the truth?"

Shrugging again, Kaworu replied, "I would imagine he did, though I believe he regrets it now."

It was at this point that they heard a disturbance in the alleyway, as one Shinji Ikari crashed into a series of garbage cans.

The bully leader – the smartest and the quickest – followed and, just as Shinji got to his feet, socked him in the face, knocking him back down again.

And then, Shinji got up again. Snarling, the bully asked, "You just don't know when to give up, do ya?"

_(cue "Sorairo Days") _

Grimacing a bit, Shinji forced himself back to his feet as he replied, "I have friends now… friends who stepped up for me when I got in trouble. I got all the votes for wimpiest guy in my class, but when I finally worked up the courage to ask, there were a couple of kids who let me play with them. Me, the loner, the weirdo, the freak who talks to himself. They let me play with them, without hesitating for even one second to wonder what the other kids would think. That tells me something important. Even now, I can see Kaname ready to smack you in the head with her bag, Suzaku bent over in pain but ready to step in and hit you for as long as he's awake, and Kaworu's shaking his head at me with a stupid grin on his face. They accepted me without even thinking about it, and when I needed them, they didn't back down, but they stood up no questions asked. It doesn't matter if you're bigger or stronger than me. As long as I know that my friends are ready to help me, I'm the toughest guy there is. It doesn't matter how big you are, or how hard you hit me, or how many times you knock me down, because I will just get right back up on my feet. Even though we just met a few days ago, the bond of friendship we share is strong, filling my soul with glorious light! My uncle told me not to run away from my problems, but now I realize that I don't have to just sit there and let them wale on me either! I'm not going to let you use me for a punching bag anymore! Believe me, I could do this all day if I felt like it, but I won't. No, I'm going to end this right here, and I'm not going to waste one more second of _my_ life on a dirtbag like you!"

Mad as a hornet, the bully shouted, "THREE IDIOTS TAKE PITY ON YOU AND YOU GROW A SPINE? I'LL SHUT YOU UP FOR GOOD, AND THEN I'LL TEACH YOUR STUPID FRIENDS THEIR PLACE, TOO!"

Then, the bully swung his fist with all of his strength at Shinji's face… and the smaller boy promptly took one step to the left, allowing the meaty fist to rocket straight into the brick wall behind him. Blinded by rage and pain, the bully immediately tried his other fist with even more power, but Shinji then took one step to the right, allowing it to be broken even worse.

It was at this point that Shinji muttered under his breath, and the bully's mind suddenly cleared as he looked into the eyes of the youth he had previously been torturing on a regular basis, and he promptly went mad.

Gone was the timid boy who had seemed to go out from one hit, and in his place, there stood a confident young man who carried himself like a king, glaring at him with contempt as though he were no more an annoyance than a housefly, and as if he could be crushed just as easily.

The bully chief's mind promptly collapsed from the pressure, and he fell into a graceless heap on the ground.

_(end "Sorairo Days")_

Kaworu facepalmed as he asked, "Shinji, Shinji, Shinji. You just _had_ to go for maximum drama, didn't you?"

Defensive, the young Ikari replied, "Hey, that was just as much trying to psych myself up as it was anything else!"

Smiling, Kaname dropped her bag and said, "Ah, that's okay. I thought it was a pretty cool speech, not to mention that part about 'the bond of friendship filling your soul with glorious light' was kinda romantic, if a bit overdone."

Shaking his head, Suzaku added, "Shinji, you should join the drama club when we get to high school. There, you can chew all the scenery you like."

Rolling with the playful verbal jabs, Shinji said, "I'm not normally like this, you know. It's just… it's just…"

Kaname kindly said, "Shinji, we're your friends. You don't have to explain yourself to us."

Suzaku added, "You are how you are, and that's just fine."

It was then that Shinji began to cry. As water streamed down Ikari's face, his three friends rushed to his side to see what was wrong, only for him to collect them all in a crushing bear hug when they got in range.

For the first time, he wasn't crying because he was in pain, or because he was lonely, or because nobody in the whole wide world seemed to care, but because he was happy.

So he was overly emotional and dramatic at times. What did it matter?

It was okay. He wasn't alone, and even though he was sometimes emotional and dramatic and always a weirdo, his friends didn't give the slightest damn about it.

And right there, at that moment, Shinji Ikari made a silent promise, to himself and to his friends.

'_From this day onward, I'm through wasting time in pity and self-doubt. Starting now, I'm going to live for me and for my friends. And what Kaworu, Suzaku, Kaname, Noriko, and Mahiro have been to me, I will be to anyone who needs me._

_No matter what, I'm going to reach out to everyone._

_All of mankind is my friend, whether they know it or not.'_

_**And friendship is an armor proof against anything one can imagine.**_

**Well, there you have it. I am open to pairing ideas in reviews. As for this chapter… well, it kinda wrote itself, and not only do I have almost no practice writing fluffy stuff like at the very end, but I also suck at writing out interactions between children.**

**As for Shinji's speech, let's just assume that he always starts chewing the scenery when he gets excited, and we just don't normally see him excited. And for the whole "mankind itself is my friend", well… he's a kid, who just recently realized how awesome humans are, especially with friends. Of course he's going to want to share that with anyone he can, and again, he's still a kid at this point. You know kids – when they dream, they dream big… or at least they used to. Not sure about nowadays, but ah well.**

**Finally, regarding his 180 personality change... take a man who's never had _anything_ worthwhile in his whole life, and then give him a chance at _everything_ that matters... especially for Shinji, who's far from normal in the first place... that's mind-warping, right there. In a good way, of course.**

**I was kinda planning to add some other stuff in this chapter, but there's always the next one. **


End file.
